Supreme God Of War!

4

At this moment, Richard Nicholas’s cell phone rang.

"It’s already so embarrassing, and now I have to take a call."

Richard Nicholas walked out the door and answered. On the other end came Vincent Scott’s voice.

"Mr. Richard, the document has been approved. They want you to take over as general manager of the three regions tomorrow and attend the inauguration ceremony."

Richard Nicholas replied casually, "You know my personality—I’ve never liked such occasions. The position, I can take, but the inauguration? Forget it."

"These are the rules from the higher-ups, Mr. Richard, and it won’t be easy to cancel."

"Then you attend on my behalf."

"This… is not appropriate. The higher-ups won’t agree."

"If they don’t agree, then tell them I won’t take the position at all. Pass my words along."

"Mr. Richard, don’t be angry. I’ll go and explain it to them."

Richard Nicholas hung up and was about to go back in when Edgar James came walking out, grinning.

"Oh, who was that on the phone?"

"A friend."

"What kind of useless friends do you have?" Edgar James sneered. "Just like when you joined the army—look at your brother-in-law and then look at yourself. My brother-in-law just promised to take me to the inauguration ceremony tomorrow. Look at my skills! What about you? You can just sit at home watching TV while I shake hands with the new general manager!"

Richard Nicholas asked with a smile, "Isn’t attending such an event not that easy? If you can’t attend, even Albert John would be embarrassed, wouldn’t he?"

"Huh!" Edgar James scoffed. "Are you saying we won’t be able to attend? You sure?"

They were still talking when Serena James came out.

Her face was dark; clearly, someone inside had said something unpleasant to her.

She walked past Richard Nicholas, saying only two words: "Go home."

"Oh, sister, don’t go. Your brother hasn’t even had a drink with you yet," Edgar James called mockingly.

Serena James kept her head down and headed straight for her car, with Richard Nicholas following.

Once inside, Serena angrily slapped the steering wheel to vent, then rested her forehead against it with a sigh.

Frustration, self-pity, resentment, and pain all poured out in that moment.

Richard Nicholas glanced at her but didn’t offer any dramatic response. He turned to look out the window, his face calm.

Serena pressed the accelerator, quickly leaving that suffocating place.

Halfway home, she said indignantly, "Do you know how people judge you?"

"What’s their judgment?"

"Weak, humble, without ambition."

"Mm."

"Ah? You hear that without any reaction?"

Richard Nicholas turned to her. "What reaction do you expect? Anger, outrage, or a fight with them?"

Serena bit her lip, wanting to speak but unsure what to say.

She just wanted to see Richard Nicholas fight back.

Instead, he continued to look out the window and suddenly asked, "All these years in the army, life was always boring. Do you know how I relieved that boredom?"

Serena didn’t answer.

"My favorite thing was going to the circus—not to watch the stunts, but to watch the clowns perform."

"What?"

Serena shot him a suspicious glance, not understanding his meaning.

Did he think the people mocking him at the family banquet were clowns? Was it that he wasn’t angry because he was actually enjoying their little performance?

They arrived home.

Serena and Richard stepped into the living room to find Edric James on the sofa, pen in hand, scribbling something while scratching his head.

"Dad, you’re home."

"Mm."

"What did the city head say?"

Without looking up, Edric replied, "It’s settled. Tomorrow’s the inauguration of the new general manager. I’m attending on behalf of the commerce department. If we can get in the good graces of the person in charge, it’ll surely benefit us in the future."

Serena glanced at what he was writing. "Dad, what are you writing?"

"A gift list."

"For who?"

"Isn’t it obvious? You can’t attend an inauguration empty-handed. I need to prepare something. The problem is, I don’t know the new GM’s preferences."

Serena said, "I don’t understand these things."

Richard Nicholas walked over and glanced at the list—it was filled with expensive luxury items. Not bad choices, but he clearly wasn’t interested.

"Dad, these gifts might be too flashy," he said with a smile.

"Oh?"

"You can give these gifts, and others can too. There’s nothing sincere about that."

Edric nodded. "Makes sense. So what do you think is better?"

"Wine."

"Isn’t wine too common?"

Richard Nicholas said, "Old Rocky Graciano wine."

"Oh? What’s so special about that?"

"Nothing much," Richard explained. "Life in Rocky is harsh. Every soldier longs for a sip of wine—it’s a distant luxury. This old wine is cheap, strong, and simple—a favorite among the low-ranking soldiers."

Edric frowned. "If it’s for low-ranking soldiers, isn’t it unsuitable for someone in charge? He’s from Rocky but surely not a low-level soldier."

"In Rocky, officers and soldiers sleep side by side. We shared beds, cups, and bottles of that same old wine."

Richard’s familiarity with Rocky eventually convinced Edric.

"All right, it’s worth a try."

"I’ll send someone to buy a bottle of long-aged Graciano. Richard, I hope you’re not wrong about this."

Edric immediately went to find someone to handle it.

At that moment, Richard’s phone rang again.

"Mr. Richard, they’ve agreed—as long as you’re willing to stay as general manager, no one will mind if you skip the inauguration."

"Good. Then get me two guest tickets."

"Huh? Mr. Richard, are you joking? You, the person in charge, skip the ceremony, and now you want guest tickets? Do you want to be a spectator at your own inauguration?"

Richard said coldly, "Are you disobeying my order?"

Vincent Scott hurriedly said, "No, I’ll handle it. Whose names should I put down?"

"Albert John and Edgar James."

Late at night.

Richard and Serena walked into the bedroom.

As husband and wife, they would normally share a room and a bed.

But things between them were still as distant as when they first met. Sleeping together would feel awkward for both.

Especially for Serena—she had never even shared a bed with a man, let alone a husband she barely knew.

Richard didn’t press her. He simply grabbed a blanket and laid it out on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Serena asked.

"You sleep on the bed, I’ll take the floor."

"This is…"

"Don’t worry. I’ve slept on the ground for years in the army. I’m used to it."

Serena said nothing more, turning off the light and lying down under the blanket.

In the dark, Richard suddenly said, "I’m sorry."

Serena’s whole body trembled. She hadn’t expected him to say that.

"In my years in the army, there were two people I most wanted to apologize to—my brother and you. If I had come back sooner, my brother wouldn’t have died. If I had come back sooner, you wouldn’t have had to endure so much resentment."

Tears she had held back for years suddenly overflowed.

For five years, she had endured countless rumors and bullying, unable to show weakness, hiding in solitude to cry.

She was exhausted from it all.

Richard said, "Don’t worry. Now that I’m back, I won’t let you suffer like that again. That’s my promise as a man."

He couldn’t make it up to his brother, but he could at least try to make it up to his wife.

Early the next morning, Richard rose, dressed, and called to Serena to get out of bed.

"Why are we up so early?"

"To attend the ceremony."

Serena was startled. "What ceremony?"

"Today’s the inauguration of the general manager of the three regions. I got two guest tickets for us."

Surprised, Serena knew that even for Edric James, with over twenty years in the city, getting an invitation was difficult. Ordinary people couldn’t even dream of it.

It was hard enough to get one guest ticket, let alone two. Only someone of Albert John’s standing could easily get them.

But Richard didn’t seem to be joking.

With that in mind, Serena quickly got dressed, ate a hurried breakfast, and drove Richard to the building where the ceremony would take place.

The parking lot was filled with supercars worth millions, showing the elite status of the guests.

Her own car seemed out of place.

"Richard, are you sure we can get in?" Serena still looked doubtful. "If we get turned away, it’ll be beyond embarrassing."

"Trust me."

Richard led her toward the entrance. Just then, three people approached from behind.

"Oh, sister, brother-in-law—what are you doing here?"

Hearing the voice, Serena instantly recognized her second brother, Edgar James. Turning, she saw him with Paul James and Albert John.

Edgar grinned. "What a coincidence, meeting here! Bringing your belongings along? What for?"

Richard said, "We’re here for the inauguration."

Edgar stared, then turned to Albert John. "Brother-in-law, did you give them two tickets?"

Albert shook his head. "With my authority, I could only get three tickets at most."

"Oh?" Edgar asked again, "Then Edric got them?"

Albert sneered. "What does he count for? His invitation came from giving gifts to the new leader—begging for a favor. Who would give him the right to buy tickets?"

Hearing that, Edgar smirked.

"If that’s the case, sister, you’re not qualified to enter. What are you doing here? This isn’t the market. What if I want to go in?"

Serena frowned. She was starting to suspect that the two tickets Richard had were fake.